The Gazette uses Instaread to provide audio versions of its articles. Some words might not be spoken correctly.
Iowa’s Independence Owners of bars and restaurants in northeast Iowa say they are hopeful that the provisions in President Donald Trump’s and congressional Republicans’ comprehensive tax and spending bill that exempt tips and overtime from federal income tax will increase their companies’ appeal to prospective employees, assisting in hiring and retaining staff.
Workers who receive overtime may deduct up to $12,500 of their overtime salary, while workers in jobs that typically receive tips could deduct up to $25,000 in tip revenue from their federal income taxes.
For people earning more than $150,000 and married couples earning more than $300,000, the tax cut gradually ends.
Assistant general manager Cora Krueger of Denali’s On The River in Independence expressed his optimism that the new tax provision will increase the demand for jobs in the service sector.
It’s difficult to find servers and bartenders who are ready to work for $10 to $15 an hour plus tips when they might perhaps make more elsewhere, according to Krueger and J.R. Zingg, owners of Sanity Room in Independence.
All we want is for our employees to be as happy as possible. However, the main thing as an employer is that we value our workers and want them to continue returning and referring others to work for us, Krueger stated. Without servers and bartenders, a restaurant cannot function.
The two appeared at a roundtable discussion organized by Republican U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson of Iowa on Tuesday in Independence to emphasize the advantages of the reconciliation bill’s provision exempting tips and overtime for both full-time and part-time workers.
Hinson praised the law for giving working Americans tax relief, which includes permanentizing small company tax incentives.
During the discussion, she informed business owners that she was working to potentially return more of their tax revenue to them. As I’ve taken a lot of these Main Street walks, I believe the one thing I’ve heard repeatedly is that we simply need the assurance. We must be able to support our workers and provide them with more opportunities.
Hinson described the increased tax deductions on overtime and gratuities, along with the small business tax provisions, as a “real game changer” that will hopefully boost our economy and, most importantly, benefit those who most need the tax breaks.
In addition to having a hair salon and coloring parlor, Crystal Blin owns the Independence bar and bowling facility 319 Social House.
According to Blin, the majority of her workers are part-timers who depend on their jobs to help support their families in the face of growing living expenses. She expressed her expectation that local spending will be stimulated by the reconciliation bill’s increased take-home pay.
They want to increase their household income because, you know, there’s usually a gap someplace. “I said,” she said. They have come to work with us in order to assist alleviate some of the rising costs that we notice, such as rising rent and their own insurance. Hopefully, they will have even more money in their pocket at the end of the day. Our goal is to keep more money in local communities by spending those dollars locally at places like the grocery store, coffee shop, and more.
The roundtable follows a recent National Republican Congressional Committee letter that POLITICO was able to receive. The memo highlights the messaging fight ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and instructs members on how to sell Trump’s megabill during the August recess of Congress.
The NRCC recommends hosting roundtables and visiting small businesses, restaurants, and hospitals to draw attention to particular bill elements. It also exhorts GOP members to concentrate on business reforms, immigration reform, and tax relief.
Democrats, who are already organizing rallies in red areas across the nation, contend that the package prioritizes tax advantages for companies and the rich while using cuts to expenditure on programs like food assistance and Medicaid to offset the expense.
During the discussion, business owners also expressed concerns about the high expense of health insurance and the difficulties in keeping up company accounts on social media sites like Facebook. The impact of flood insurance, the challenge of keeping employees in the restaurant business, and the high expenses of building renovation and insurance in small towns were all discussed.
In a subsequent interview with reporters, Hinson attributed the increase in health insurance costs on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also referred to as Obamacare. Previously uninsured Americans now have access to health insurance thanks to the comprehensive health care reform bill that was passed in 2010. Important clauses include banning the denial of coverage for prior conditions, removing lifetime and yearly restrictions on coverage, and offering subsidies to lower the cost of coverage.
According to Hinson, Republicans are considering a range of measures aimed at reducing costs and increasing drug pricing transparency.
“A good piece of legislation that I believe could be a meaningful solution that will help drive down those drug costs is currently going through the Energy and Commerce Committee,” she stated. Additionally, I believe that the President’s negotiations resulted in the implementation of a broad policy and executive order for pharmaceutical companies, which will assist lower health care costs for everyone.
According to recent reports from the health policy group KFF, the Trump administration is cutting back on government regulations and programs that shield consumers from excessive medical expenses, which might put more Americans in debt.
It is anticipated that tax reform legislation will result in millions of individuals losing their health insurance. Through Medicaid cuts and modifications to the ACA marketplaces, the law is expected to raise the number of people without insurance by 10 million in 2034 and increase the budget deficit by $3.4 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The CBO’s predictions, according to critics, are based on suppositions about how states would execute or react to policy changes, which might differ greatly and have an impact on total coverage rates. For instance, because it makes an inaccurate assumption about state enforcement and compliance, the CBO can exaggerate the impact of work requirements in Medicaid.
According to the KFF report, substantial increases in health plan premiums on state insurance marketplaces in the upcoming year will probably force more Americans to either cancel their coverage or move to higher-deductible plans, which will require them to make larger out-of-pocket payments before their insurance kicks in.
Additionally, certain Medicaid enrollees may have to pay co-pays of up to $35 for some doctor visits as a result of the legislation.
Comments can be sent to [email protected] or (319) 398-8499.
